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volsairine's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Ugh. I want to love this book so badly. It would be a five star for me if somethings had been different, because I love the world building so, so, so much and I really am invested in the plot. However, the dialogue was rough and it felt veeeeery YA (which is why I was shocked by the sex lol).
Personally I feel like the author was a little too heavy handed with the plot twist breadcrumbs, so I spotted basically everything really quickly and that was a little frustrating. MAJOR SPOILER about a plot twist:the ink thing frustrated me badly. Golan's association with the ink was mentioned like twice before the poisoning and then twice after "I'm all out of squid ink, conveniently right after it was used to murder the queens". It just being mentioned for dying his beard one time would have been sufficient and a great breadcrumb without holding the readers hand too much. There were so many chances for the author to lead the reader away with red herrings and instead I felt like I was directly led to the twist way before I wanted to be and way before it was revealed. I found myself thinking "No! I don't want to know this!". There was probably only one plot point that genuinely shocked me (which made me excited!). I hope that in the next books she learns to trust her readers a bit more, I promise that we love and appreciate the mystery!
I am very hopeful for the next two books though because I can't wait to see where this goes, I just need the editor to reign it in a little bit pls ๐ญ Also there was some plot stuff that lost me. MAJOR SPOILER:Where was the brother/Rayan's dad whenever he was killed? Was he in the fae world? Why was his obeah just chillin out there in the wild??? Also learning a language is VERY hard, especially one that is hard to learn and it felt a little too convenient that Lettle was able to pick it up so quickly. .
All that being said, I ADOREEEED the disability + gender fluid rep. And Pila. I love Pila. Pila best character. I want Pila to be my bestie.
Additionally, there is not a single mention of sexual violence in this book which is so refreshing for fantasy. Love that. 100% safe for a survivor to read, imo (if they're cool with sex).
I should probably give this book a 3.75 but I enjoyed the world too much so it's a 4. Probably one of my favorite fantasy worlds yet.
Personally I feel like the author was a little too heavy handed with the plot twist breadcrumbs, so I spotted basically everything really quickly and that was a little frustrating. MAJOR SPOILER about a plot twist:
I am very hopeful for the next two books though because I can't wait to see where this goes, I just need the editor to reign it in a little bit pls ๐ญ Also there was some plot stuff that lost me. MAJOR SPOILER:
All that being said, I ADOREEEED the disability + gender fluid rep. And Pila. I love Pila. Pila best character. I want Pila to be my bestie.
Additionally, there is not a single mention of sexual violence in this book which is so refreshing for fantasy. Love that. 100% safe for a survivor to read, imo (if they're cool with sex).
I should probably give this book a 3.75 but I enjoyed the world too much so it's a 4. Probably one of my favorite fantasy worlds yet.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, and Classism
bibliomich's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Faebound hooked me from the first chapter, and this ended up being quite a quick read for me, especially as someone who typically takes a long time to finish fantasy novels.
What I appreciated:
- Diverse character representation
- The setting of Mosima; I could truly picture the landscape, and the underground world that El-Arifi imagined was so vibrant and beautifully described.
- The relationships between the characters, especially the complicated sister relationship between Yeeran & Lettle
- The different systems of magic
What would have made this book even better:
- The end of the novel felt a little rushed to me. I appreciate that this was structured to be the first in a series, and I was completely okay with the loose ends and questions that we were left with at the end of the book. But I still felt like so many hugely significant events happened in a very short period of time, and we don't really get to see the characters process these events.
- I would have loved to have seen the obeah play a more prominent role in the book. I don't want to say much more, as I don't want to provide any spoilers, but I will just say that this was one particular area where I was really hoping for *more*.
I'm very much looking forward to the next installment in the series. Thank you to NetGalley for my digital ARC.
What I appreciated:
- Diverse character representation
- The setting of Mosima; I could truly picture the landscape, and the underground world that El-Arifi imagined was so vibrant and beautifully described.
- The relationships between the characters, especially the complicated sister relationship between Yeeran & Lettle
- The different systems of magic
What would have made this book even better:
- The end of the novel felt a little rushed to me. I appreciate that this was structured to be the first in a series, and I was completely okay with the loose ends and questions that we were left with at the end of the book. But I still felt like so many hugely significant events happened in a very short period of time, and we don't really get to see the characters process these events.
- I would have loved to have seen the obeah play a more prominent role in the book. I don't want to say much more, as I don't want to provide any spoilers, but I will just say that this was one particular area where I was really hoping for *more*.
I'm very much looking forward to the next installment in the series. Thank you to NetGalley for my digital ARC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, War, Classism, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, and Death of parent
Minor: Dementia and Sexual content
ofbooksandechos's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Murder, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Death of parent, Medical content, Classism, and Blood
Minor: Police brutality, Grief, and Toxic relationship
Other CWs: Fictional racism, death of a family member, fictional confinement, starvation, poverty, references to Kwarshiorkor in children, mention of child soldiersasahome's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
5.0
TL;DR: A woman discovers a new path forward when she can no longer serve in her nationโs army. Her sister and friend join her in exile to bring her back when they are captured by a group thought to be fairy tales.
I love how they handled the relationships. The way they respected the established relationship at the beginning and the new relationships were respectful and realistic. The relationships weren't one size fits all either. While the main characters didn't necessarily indulge in multiple partners, there was no judgement on those who did. The society built was accepting of all relationships including the ones around gender. "Like many elves, Motogo's gender was as flexible as the weather..."
There were a couple things I guessed before they happened, but itโs better that way in my opinion so it doesnโt feel like itโs coming out of nowhere. There were one or two things that surprised me as well.
The way the book handled war was also powerful. It put the politicians at the center and I respect that. People forget why wars are fought and this was a stark reminder. It didnโt shy away from classism either. All in all, I thought it was a fantastic book.
I love how they handled the relationships. The way they respected the established relationship at the beginning and the new relationships were respectful and realistic. The relationships weren't one size fits all either. While the main characters didn't necessarily indulge in multiple partners, there was no judgement on those who did. The society built was accepting of all relationships including the ones around gender. "Like many elves, Motogo's gender was as flexible as the weather..."
There were a couple things I guessed before they happened, but itโs better that way in my opinion so it doesnโt feel like itโs coming out of nowhere. There were one or two things that surprised me as well.
The way the book handled war was also powerful. It put the politicians at the center and I respect that. People forget why wars are fought and this was a stark reminder. It didnโt shy away from classism either. All in all, I thought it was a fantastic book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Murder, Violence, Abandonment, Classism, Grief, Animal death, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Genocide, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Racial slurs, Child death, and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping, Slavery, and Trafficking
Racial Slurs: the fae referred to those unbound as "lightless" as a condition Slavery/Kidnapping/Trafficking: refers to child soldiers that could be found or sold into service by family members Classism: refers to the way the fae treat those unboundginzengtea's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It took a while for the story to get going as this is the first book in a trilogy and had a lot of world building but all the characters have so much weight to them and it just became much more of an interesting story.
I canโt wait to read the rest of it
I canโt wait to read the rest of it
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Racism, Ableism, and Classism
gondorgirl's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
I listened to the audio on 2x speed and it sounded like the main character was being called "Urine". If you listed sped up you may want to stick to the physical book for this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Animal death
Moderate: Confinement, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, War, Alcohol, and Death of parent
tardisbookcat's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved the potential of the world building but wasnโt aware this was more romantasy. I hope that the next book has less spice and more lore, more on par with Battle Drum.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, War, Death, Genocide, and Violence
Minor: Confinement and Colonisation
Started a bit slowly but after the first few chapters I wasnโt able to put it down.brewdy_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ด๐บ โข ๐๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ด๐บ โข ๐๐ถ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐ โข ๐๐ถ๐ฃ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ 23 ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ถ๐ข๐ณ๐บ 2024
War stories have become increasingly popular within the romantasy sub-genre. Faebound combines this and other familiar fantasy tropes with unique elements in a a fun, easily consumable package. There will be:
โจ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ (๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด)
โจ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด
โจ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค (๐ฅ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค)
โจ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด (๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ด)
โจ ๐ง๐ข๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ต
โจ ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง & ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ
โจ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ
โจ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ
โจ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด
I appreciated that the book was written in a queer and disability-normative, gender-fluid, and racially-ambiguous way. Instead of riding dragons or horses, here we ride obeahs and camels. And of course, there's going to be a journey across realms and a very fancy map in the endpapers worth ogling.
What did not work as well for me in this story was the writing. It felt simplistic relative to other high fantasy (or even romantasy) adult novels. I would say this leaned YA (dialogue, descriptions, mostly fade to black, predictable storyline, complexity of magic). I would like the characters and relationships to have been developed in greater depth also.
There were some great one liners, moments of reflection, and a few surprise twists! I definitely will sign up to read volume 2.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ @๐๐ฆ๐ต๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ @๐๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ.
๐๐๐ โข ๐๐ถ๐ฃ ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ 23 ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ถ๐ข๐ณ๐บ 2024
War stories have become increasingly popular within the romantasy sub-genre. Faebound combines this and other familiar fantasy tropes with unique elements in a a fun, easily consumable package. There will be:
โจ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฃ๐ช๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ (๐ค๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ด ๐ฅ๐ช๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ค๐ฆ๐ด)
โจ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐ด
โจ ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ธ๐ช๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค (๐ฅ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค ๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ธ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค)
โจ ๐ฑ๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ด๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ถ๐ณ๐ด๐ฆ๐ด (๐ถ๐ต๐ช๐ญ๐ช๐ป๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฎ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ด)
โจ ๐ง๐ข๐ฆ ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ต
โจ ๐ธ๐ข๐ณ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ต๐ณ๐ฐ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ง & ๐ข๐ค๐ค๐ฆ๐ด๐ด ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ข ๐ญ๐ช๐ฎ๐ช๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ๐ค๐ฆ
โจ ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ
โจ ๐ญ๐ฆ๐จ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ
โจ ๐ฎ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ท๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ถ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ด
I appreciated that the book was written in a queer and disability-normative, gender-fluid, and racially-ambiguous way. Instead of riding dragons or horses, here we ride obeahs and camels. And of course, there's going to be a journey across realms and a very fancy map in the endpapers worth ogling.
What did not work as well for me in this story was the writing. It felt simplistic relative to other high fantasy (or even romantasy) adult novels. I would say this leaned YA (dialogue, descriptions, mostly fade to black, predictable storyline, complexity of magic). I would like the characters and relationships to have been developed in greater depth also.
There were some great one liners, moments of reflection, and a few surprise twists! I definitely will sign up to read volume 2.
๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฌ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ต๐ฐ @๐๐ฆ๐ต๐๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ @๐๐ฆ๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐บ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐น๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ท๐ช๐ฆ๐ธ.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, War, Animal death, Hate crime, and Classism
booksalacarte's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Faebound 3.75โญ๏ธ 3๐ถ๏ธ
Fantasy
๐ณ๏ธโ๐ Main Characters
Older fmcโs
Dual POV
BIPOC
War
Unique Magic System
Sister story
Disability rep
Animal familiars
๐ณ๏ธโ๐๐ณ๏ธโโง๏ธ normative societies
The magic system was very interesting, I really loved the familiars the fae have. So many good quotes come from Pila, who is a familiar, innocently with true intention.
I found the worldbuilding to be a little slow. The foreshadowing was very heavy, so I wasnโt thrown for a loop when the big twists came.
The plot really dragged. I wish that there was a little bit more angst than just someone refusing to interact with the other and calling it romantic tension. The cast of main characters are all 28 and older, but the inner monologues are very juvenile. It made it harder for me to read, I think.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the Advanced eReader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Violence, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Murder, Sexual content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
mjscooke's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Told in dual pov of two sisters, Faebound is set in an African inspired fantasy world where after one of these Elven sisters finds herself exiled and the other follows her, both come in contact with things they previously had thought fairytales. I particularly enjoyed the world building and the fantastical elements and magic but it did feel like it was more of a build up to a more interesting sequel than a knockout first in the series. I am interested to see how the story progresses in book 2 though.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Murder, Classism, and War